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Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant

Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant is a nuclear power station in France with 2 operating units totalling 1,912 MW gross. The site has 4 units on record in total.

Operating6circle area ∝ site capacity Coastlines, borders and lakes: Natural Earth (1:10 million, public domain), which is generalised, so a coastal plant can sit a couple of kilometres off its true shoreline. Site positions: Global Nuclear Power Tracker.
Units on record
4
Operating
2
Operating capacity
1,912MW
Country

Units

UnitStatusTypeModelGross MWOnline
Unit B-1 Operating PWR CP2 956 1983
Unit B-2 Operating PWR CP2 956 1983
Unit A-1 Retired GCR Uranium Naturel Graphite Gaz 500 1969
Unit A-2 Retired GCR Uranium Naturel Graphite Gaz 530 1971

Unit by unit

Each unit's rating, type and milestone dates as recorded by the Global Nuclear Power Tracker, with any correction we made to it. A dash or "not disclosed" means the source does not give the value.

Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant B-1 Operating

Reactor typePressurised water reactor (PWR)
ModelCP2
Size classLarge
Gross capacity956MW
Net capacity915MW
Thermal output2,785MWt
Enrichment3–5% U-235
NSSS vendorFramatome
OwnerElectricité de France SA100%
OperatorElectricité de France
Construction start1 May 1976
First criticality4 Jan 1981
Grid connection21 Jan 1981
Commercial operation1 Aug 1983

Live status, outage record and fuel chain for Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant B-1

Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant B-2 Operating

Reactor typePressurised water reactor (PWR)
ModelCP2
Size classLarge
Gross capacity956MW
Net capacity915MW
Thermal output2,785MWt
Enrichment3–5% U-235
NSSS vendorFramatome
OwnerElectricité de France SA100%
OperatorElectricité de France
Construction start1 Jul 1976
First criticality12 May 1981
Grid connection1 Jun 1981
Commercial operation1 Aug 1983

Live status, outage record and fuel chain for Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant B-2

Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant A-1 Retired

Reactor typeGas-cooled reactor (GCR)
ModelUranium Naturel Graphite Gaz
Size classLarge
Gross capacity500MW
Net capacity390MW
Thermal output1,650MWt
EnrichmentNatural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235no enrichment required
NSSS vendornot on record
OwnerElectricité de France SA100%
OperatorElectricité de France
Construction start1 Oct 1963
First criticality7 Jan 1969
Grid connection14 Mar 1969
Commercial operation1 Jun 1969
Permanent shutdown18 Apr 1990

Accident on record: Saint-Laurent A1 fuel melt, 1969-10-17, INES level 4, accident with local consequences.

Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant A-2 Retired

Reactor typeGas-cooled reactor (GCR)
ModelUranium Naturel Graphite Gaz
Size classLarge
Gross capacity530MW
Net capacity465MW
Thermal output1,475MWt
EnrichmentNatural uranium to 2.5–3.5% U-235no enrichment required
NSSS vendornot on record
OwnerElectricité de France SA100%
OperatorElectricité de France
Construction start1 Jan 1966
First criticality4 Jul 1971
Grid connection9 Aug 1971
Commercial operation1 Nov 1971
Permanent shutdown27 May 1992

Accident on record: Saint-Laurent A2 fuel melt, 1980-03-13, INES level 4, accident with local consequences.

Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant in context

By gross operating capacity Saint-Laurent nuclear power plant is the 18th largest of 18 operating nuclear sites in France, holding 3% of the country's operating capacity, and ranks 98th of 172 worldwide.

Its operating units started up in 1983; the median unit is 43.0 years old, older than the median of 41.0 in France.

The 4 units with both construction and grid dates on record took 4.7 to 5.6 years (median 5.2) from construction start to grid connection; the median across all reactors connected in the 1980s is 7.3 years.

The nearest other tracked nuclear sites are Dampierre nuclear power plant (70 km), Belleville nuclear power plant (100 km) and Chinon nuclear power plant (120 km).

The current net rating of Unit B-2 differs from its design net capacity by +4.0% (880 MW at design, 915 MW now).

Build time by unit

UnitConstruction startGrid connectionYearsFleet median, same decade
Unit A-1196319695.55.0 (1960s)
Unit A-2196619715.65.4 (1970s)
Unit B-1197619814.77.3 (1980s)
Unit B-2197619814.97.3 (1980s)

Nearest tracked nuclear sites

How these are worked out: ranks use gross operating capacity; ages count from the start-up year on record, as on the age page; build times run from construction start to grid connection, as on the build-times page; ratings are the tracker's net and design net capacity, as on the uprates page. Distances are straight-line between exact positions, so a site with only an approximate position gets none. A unit missing a date or a rating is left out of the figure that needs it.

Site detail
LocationCentre-Val de Loire, France
Coordinates47.7197, 1.5783
Elevationabout 95 mabove sea level
SettingAbout 210 km from the sea
RegionWestern Europe
Units by status
Operating: 2
Retired: 2

Elevation is read at the listed coordinates from a 30 m terrain model (SRTM 30 m). Two independent models differ by a median of 6 m across our plants and by up to about 40 m on steep or coastal ground, and a point on a shoreline can read as sea level. Distance to the water is measured to a generalised 1:10 million coastline, so a few kilometres or less is not resolved. This is context, not a design-basis or flood-risk figure.

Owners & operators
Owners
Electricité de France SA
Operators
Electricité de France

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Sources

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